Spiegelman, Sol, 1914-1983.

Sol Spiegelman was born on December 14, 1914 in Brooklyn, New York, to Max Spiegelman, a teacher of oriental languages and religion at a Hebrew theological seminary, and his wife Eva. A prolific and dedicated researcher, Sol Spiegelman made several important contributions in the fields of microbial genetics and cancer research. After earning his Ph.D., Spiegelman began investigating how cells formed their enzymes. He and his colleagues demonstrated that changes or alterations in enzymes could occur without an accompanying mutation in the genes that control them. Based on this, Spiegelman suggested that abnormalities in enzymes occurred when critical fractions of genes were inappropriately activated or deactivated. Today this phenomenon is known as switching a gene on or off, and has had serious implications in the fight against cancer. Spiegelman's data raised the possibility that the wild multiplication of cells which characterized cancer might be attributed to an (uncontrollable or unruly) mechanism rather than a genetic mutation. During the course of his RNA experiments he developed a technique that made it possible to test cancerous tissue for the presence of a virus; this laid the groundwork for his attempts to isolate a link between cancer and viral infections. Spiegelman demonstrated that RNA in a virus known to cause mammary tumors in mice was similar to sequences found in human breast cancer, which fueled his efforts to develop a clinically useful test for breast cancer in humans. In 1974 his career research was awarded the top American prize, the Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research.

From the description of Sol Spiegelman papers, 1929-1983. (National Library of Medicine). WorldCat record id: 84659277

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